Warriors¹ in hard fought battle with Blazers A
On Saturday 23rd May 2026 our Warriors 1 team welcomed the Sheffield Blazers to Planet Ice for this return fixture in the IHSC Cup.
This was the return fixture against the Blazers following the sides’ previous meeting in January, where the Warriors produced a hard-fought 1-4 victory on the road. That was also the Warriors opening game in their 2025-26 IHSC Cup season.
The Warriors were close to full strength for that game, but it wasn’t the case for this one. The team were without a lot of players and had to improvise by playing some forwards in D.
Dressed players
Lewis Pickering (NM), Chris Giles (C), Andy Giles (A), Sam Cromack (A), Adam Gibbons, Ellen Gallimore, Mitch White, Niks Kamaldins, Tyler Heming, Simon Morrow, Chris Scampton, Harvey Galloway, Jordan Batty, Adam Tomlinson, Will Gibbons, Andrew Hughes.
Before tonight's puck drop both teams lined up on the blue line to observe a minutes silence in memory of Sheffield Ice Tigers IHC player Bobby Bonsall who tragically passed away earlier this week, aged just 22.
Our thoughts are with Bobby's family, friends and everyone at Ice Tigers IHC.
1st period
The opening period was tight and competitive, with both teams feeling each other out. The Blazers passing game was on full display as they looked to control possession whereas the Warriors always looked dangerous in short offensive bursts.
With only 1:53 on the clock, the Blazers took an interference penalty which gave the Warriors an early power-play opportunity. But unfortunately they couldn’t convert from the man advantage.
It quickly became apparent that the referee was adopting a very strict approach and was likely to call even minor infractions against both teams.
At 07:30, the Warriors took a minor penalty for high-sticking which put them on the back foot, but they were able to kill off the penalty comfortably.
At 09:59, the Blazers took another minor penalty - this time for interference. But again, the Warriors were unable to capitalise.
The early signs suggested this was going to be another tight and tense contest, likely to be decided by a single goal.
Both teams were creating chances, with the goaltenders playing a key role in keeping the game scoreless. Warriors netminder Lewis Pickering produced several crucial saves to keep the team level during key moments.
With so many key players missing for the Warriors, they looked to their star players for moments of brilliance - and unsurprisingly it was Mitch White who eventually broke the deadlock. At 17:15, a well-worked move saw White fire the Warriors ahead, assisted by Andy Giles and Niks Kamaldins, giving the home side a 1–0 lead.
The Warriors carried this narrow advantage into the first intermission after an extremely tense and closely fought first period.
Warriors 1-0 Blazers
2nd period
At 1-0, this game was wide open. The Warriors needed to protect their lead whilst also trying to increase the gap. A one goal lead was too close for comfort as the Blazers were likely to come out fighting and really take the game to the Warriors.
The second period was another tense affair with both goalies blocking and saving shots.
The Warriors were also playing short-handed for a significant period of time as they picked up minor penalties. Fortunately, these penalties were killed off:
21:53 — Roughing
23:47 — Interference
But, these early penalties did hinder the Warriors rhythm and they spent long periods under extreme pressure defensively.
The team struggled to clear the puck out of the zone as waves of attacks came from the Blazers.
So it was with great relief when, at 32:31, the Warriors doubled their lead. That man Mitch White struck again, this time assisted by Niks Kamaldins, making it 2–0.
After all the pressure the team had absorbed it felt like the Blazers must surely score, so it was a huge relief that the Warriors scored this crucial second.
But there was still time for some more overly strict refereeing as the Warriors were penalised for:
35:59 — Cross-checking
More offensive power-play pressure came from the Blazers but the Warriors stood firm and killed the penalty.
With just a couple of minutes of the period to go, the Warriors were just wanting to get to the second intermission and regroup.
With the buzzer sounding for the end of the period, the team were thankful to have won the period 1-0. That goal gave the Warriors some breathing space heading into the final period - but they knew the game was still far from over.
Warriors 2-0 Blazers
3rd period
At 2–0, the lead remained precarious, and a third goal was clearly needed. The next goal was crucial in this game.
The Warriors knew the Blazers would come out fighting in the final period and if they were to bring the score to 2-1 this could cause panic on the home bench.
So it came as a huge relief when Mitch White completed a superb hat-trick, finishing from an assist by Ellen Gallimore to put the Warriors 3–0 ahead.
The goal had relieved some tension, but timed at 46:13, there was still a long way to go in the period.
And the Blazers refused to go away quietly. Approximately 90 seconds later at 47:55 they pulled one back when they hit a shot through traffic that found its way into the next. 3-1.
Just 31 seconds later, at 49:26, the Blazers got their second goal on a breakaway - suddenly cutting the deficit to 3–2 and setting up a tense finish.
With more than 10 minutes remaining and a now rejuvenated Blazers, this was very concerning got the Warriors. The Blazers were now full of confidence and smelt blood. The Warriors, on the other hand, were caught between holding onto the 3-2 lead or pushing on to try and get a 4th goal.
Some respite came for the hosts when the Blazers took a couple of minor penalties for interference at 51:45 and 56:04. This really hindered the visitors hopes of grabbing the equaliser and allowed the Warriors some time to breathe.
But no sooner had Blazers become short-handed at 56:04, 18 seconds later the Warriors took a holding penalty (56:22), meaning it was 4v4 for a long stretch before the Blazers would have a brief power-play.
At this point, the Blazers were throwing everything forward in search of an equaliser and the panic in the Warriors ranks resulted in the hosts calling a time-out in order to regroup.
The Blazers also pulled their goalie for the extra man, with the face-off in the Warriors zone - this was tense stuff.
But, the hosts managed to clear the zone and the puck ended up on the end of Niks Kamaldins stick - and he managed to release a shot into the empty net (59:39), assisted by Mitch White, securing a hard-earned 4–2 victory.
Final score:
Warriors 4-2 Blazers
Points scorers :
Mitch White 3+1
Niks Kamaldins 1+2
Andy Giles 0+1
Ellen Gallimore 0+1
Mitch White
Player of the game
Lewis Pickering
Captain’s POTG
The Player of the Game for the Warriors, as selected by the Blazers, went to our hat-trick hero, Mitch White! And the Captain’s helmet went to Lewis Pickering who pulled off some great saves to keep the Warriors in it. Well played lads!
Also, shout-outs to Simon Morrow and Andrew Hughes - both guys are forwards who played in defence and they did a fantastic job.
This was such a tough game for the Warriors and it was a relief to have come through it with a W.
It wasn’t pretty, but playing a strong team when you have so many crucial players missing was always going to make it more difficult - and this one could have gone either way.
Getting that third goal to make it 3-0 was the key buffer that the team needed. But when the Blazers brought it to 3-2 it became far more tense than it should have been. Conceding 2 goals in less than a minute was a huge blow.
But the big story of the game was Mitch White’s hat-trick - White proved decisive for the Warriors once again, stepping up in key moments and delivering when the team needed him most.
Thanks to the Blazers for travelling to Leeds and for two amazingly competitive games. We wish you well for the remainder of your IHSC Cup campaign.
Finally, the team would like to thank all the Warriors 2 and 3 players who came to support from the stands - and those who ran the clock, scoreboard and sheet. It was greatly appreciated.
For Warriors 1, their next hockey comes in the form of two tournaments. The first is the Kingston Cobras Tournament on the weekend of 6-7th June, and this is followed by the Leeds Lightning Tournament on the weekend of 27-28th June.
The next full hockey game for the Warriors is their final IHSC Cup game. See the details below:
Saturday 19th July 2026
Hull Knights v Leeds Warriors 1
@ Hull Ice Arena
Face-off : 12:30pm
All Warriors 1 fixtures and results can be found here : Fixtures and Results
